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them as tools, rather than join them as friends,” Liz said wryly. “Then what happens to them?”
    “A spear’s point, thrust into the rock, will always shatter,” Gavin said. “Once we have what is ours, we will dispose of the pieces that remain. Silent Thunder has no place in the order that is to come.” The general grinned. “But there may be a place for you, Miss Aurora, if you manage to succeed. Politicians have a way of forgetting our faults, when some great deed is accomplished. I have my assurances from the emperor that if you can deliver the rebellion into our hands you will be welcomed home with open arms.”
    The Imperial Conglomerate is not my home, she longed to say. I have never had a home…perhaps I never will .
    “Do you accept these terms?” Gavin asked.
    “Do I have a choice?”
    The general grinned, “There’s always a choice. However, if your choice is to have a fighting chance at survival…then no. All the same, I need your answer.”
    Liz hesitated. She wanted to bite back with some snide remark and tell Gavin exactly what he could do with his offer. She wanted to spit in Emperor Sullivan’s face and make him pay for betraying her. But in order to hold on to hope that she might one day reunite with her family, she could do neither.
    “I’ll do it.”
    “Good,” Gavin nodded curtly. “Gather your bearings. You jump in two minutes.”
    Liz’s heart pounded in her ears, “Jump?”
    “We are now deep within the heart of the World System,” Gavin explained. “It seems we have been undetected so far, but that will not last. We must get back to the Atlantic. You will be dropped near a significant group we have located in the Wilderness. It is our hope that this group is Silent Thunder, though we are not certain. Derek Blaine’s Spectorium also roams this region, hunting them.”
    “You save my life just to risk dropping me back into the hands of the World System?”
    “I said I’d give you a fighting chance,” Gavin corrected. “Whether you survive…that’s on you.” He stood and barked his orders, “Private, secure the prisoner and her belongings.”
    A young Imperial Guardsman emerged from the corner of her eye with a small backpack. She gazed upon it with hunger, knowing her Gladius must be within. The guardsman hesitated for a moment, looking her over with both suspicion and regret. So respect and loyalty do remain in the ranks, even if it is reluctant .
    “It’s not a show, son,” Gavin said. “Get her up.”
    The guardsman bent down and released her restraints, then gently lifted her to her feet. She wobbled there for a moment, and sharp pain exploded in her head. Whatever they had used to drug her was still impairing her movements, yet they wanted her to skydive into hostile territory? The Wilderness calls of predator and prey echoed in her ears and made her shudder. Down there, alone, there was no doubt which one she’d be. It was only a question of which predator found her first.
    She wouldn’t go down that way.
    Focusing her pain into adrenaline, she charged the lieutenant and drove him hard against the bulkhead. He dropped the backpack with a surprised grunt, and she lunged for it. Unfortunately she wasn’t as quick as usual, and a hand grabbed her hair at the base of her neck. Liz went limp, and what little fight she had been able to summon took flight. There could be no more resistance.
    The strong hand turned her back around to face Gavin, who stood smiling as though nothing had happened. No doubt he had that extra guard in position, predicting she would try such a move. The lieutenant rose from the floor and again approached her with the backpack, shoving in on her—not so gently, this time—while the second guard continued to hold her with a firm grip.
    Once the backpack was secured Gavin nodded, and the guard pushed her toward the hatch. Gavin pressed his hand to the side panel and the door slid open, letting in a rush of cool air. The high-altitude